Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review
Scent from the dry leaves reminds me of straw (in a good way). The liquid aroma brings out some melon and cucumber notes.
Onto drinking it, I taste very subtle flavours; melon, cucumber, essence of spring, straw, something sweet, “tea” flavour. It goes down very smooth, the texture is kind of fuzzy and velvety. I’d say this is more comforting than it is refreshing.
The second steep yielded much of the same flavours. My husband liked it, but felt this was too subtle for him.
Overall this is very similar to Bai Mu Dan, but here the leaves are all buds. The buds make for a very smooth tea, with no obvious faults poking your mouth as you drink. I think trying “plain” white tea once (Bai Hao Yin Zhen or Bai Mu Dan) is a good experience. If you’ve only had the flavoured stuff before, the original tea flavour can be lost.
Personally, I enjoy white tea because it’s not too heavy on the flavour and doesn’t become too grassy like some green teas.
Next time I brew this, I’ll try multiple short steeps in the gaiwan. The Teavivre website lists 5-6 steeps, so I will aim to get the same results.
200ml glass teapot (filled to the brim), 1 packet (5g? 2 tsp?), 2 steeps
